Our conference focused on the future of nursing and how nurses are uniting to help create healthier communities through better jobs and better healthcare. Our nurses also learned about a new nationwide education program run by SEIU nurse leaders, Empowering Patients, targeted at informing our co-workers and patients of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The agenda included such topics as: a review of Nurse Leadership 2009-2011 presented by NA President Dian Palmer, RN accompanied by a video (http://youtu.be/QPy-banva_A) and slide show of our accomplishments nationwide. SEIU President Mary Kay Henry presented inspiring words about the RN’s role in the Fight For a Fair Economy campaign.

We were also blessed to have The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, come join our conference one day to inform our nurses just how crucial they are to quality healthcare and patient care.

There were several breakout sessions for the nurses to choose from: Best Practices Related to Safe Staffing; Health Information Technology; Labor/Management Success Stories; Social Networking and how to Empower and Keep Nurses in Touch with One Another; Developing new Leaders and Problem Solving from One end of the Country to the Next; Health and Safety and Workplace Violence Prevention. There was a wide range of interesting and compelling classes available. The only problem was choosing which ones to attend – they were all worthwhile!

Wednesday saw us learning how and why nurses are the key to making sure patients know about the Affordable Care Act’s benefits and insurance protections. Nurse leaders from SEIU Local 521 from Bakersfield shared how they brought information about the healthcare law to the nurses and patients in their communities. Partnering with SEIU Local 1000 allowed them to effectively reach out to even more nurses and the patients they care for.

It was also a big day for nurses to go to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of their patients and fellow nurses to protect healthcare funding, specifically Medicaid and Medicare, from further cuts. Our nurses delivered their handwritten letters to their members of Congress, detailing exactly how cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will affect patient care and add to job losses and describing the patients who would be most at risk from cuts. Not content with lobbying members of Congress in their offices, hundreds of our nurses marched in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters and staged a “Code Blue” for quality healthcare and quality jobs.

On a celebratory note, several members of SEIU Local 721 from Los Angeles presented Senator Barbara Boxer with the 2011 Nightingale Award, recognizing her work and support of nurses. Later that afternoon, about 30 of our nurses attended a rally in support of public employees and opposing further budget cuts to the vital services provided by teachers, police, firefighters and other first responders. Vice President Joe Biden spoke at this event; it was thrilling and a tremendous honor to be there, not only to see our VP in person, but to support fellow public employees.

[NEW!] Where the Jobs Are: Healthcare: (http://www.seiu.org/healthcare-jobs/)
Now more than ever, Americans cannot afford devastating cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Additional cuts to these vital healthcare programs would also threaten quality healthcare jobs across every state.

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